Rev up your engines and buckle up for a thrilling ride as I take you through the rollercoaster of emotions involved in giving away my motorcycle and deciding on my brand new one. What you might perceive as a simple task turned out to be an unexpected adventure, akin to the thrilling escapades you encounter on the open roads.
The Beginning of the Quest
It all started with the fact that I wasn't very comfortable on my current motorcycle, MT15, which was tall for an average height girl trying her hand at riding on Indian roads and traffic that demanded a lot of stop and go. I still tried my best to get accustomed to the bike and the challenging daily commute. But somewhere it was causing an agitation in me every time I had to choose my motorcycle as a mode of commute. Unknowingly, I was terrified of getting on the road on my motorcycle. I could sense the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach every time there was a pothole or an elevation in the path as I found myself flailing my legs in the air desperate to touch hard ground. The sense of losing balance and falling was inevitable for a short rider and all these incidents were slowly but steadily snatching away my confidence to ride a motorcycle. And then one day it was just too much after a round of justification to myself and my husband as to why I wasn't using my motorcycle as much as I should have. It had been close to 2 years and I had clocked only 4,000 kms on it! That's not what an enthusiastic rider's odometer would look like. The numbers were insulting and a constant reminder of something that was holding me back from travelling more on my motorcycle. For those of you who follow me on my social media account, you might have seen very less posts as the months went by. I was terrified. It wasn't anybody's fault. I had chosen a wrong vehicle and that was keeping me from exploring the world as I had once dreamt.
So after a little contemplation and some push from my ever supportive husband I decided it was time to bid goodbye to Snake Eyes (my MT15). I had to set my emotions locked away, since I was finding tough to part with him, though I didn't really seem to enjoy riding the bike anymore. So the usuals of posting an ad on market places began and so did the hunt for a new machine. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to go ahead and buy a motorcycle once again or simply shut up and stick to the scooter that was already at home. Be like everyone else out there who find comfort riding a scooter, which has no headache of changing gears and could simply zip past vehicles in traffic and maneuver potholes with eyes closed! But I also knew this one thing about me. If I give up now and lose touch from doing something, I would close that door forever and never open it and regret it later. In my heart I knew I wanted more. I wanted to do something different, not to prove the world something but to prove myself that I am much more capable than what I give myself credit for. I just wanted to grow and make myself proud. It was that simple.
And finally the day arrived when a buyer matched our price and it was time to let Snake Eyes go. My first brand new motorcycle that I had bought with my hard earned money. All those moments I spent with him came crashing down on me as I handed the keys over to a stranger. Thoughts like, 'Will he be handed over to a good owner?', 'Will the next owner take good care of him?', 'I hope he will be used the way he is supposed to be, by the next fella!' started swimming in my head and before I knew it I was crying as Snake Eyes was being taken away. I was never to see him again...
Then the next phase began - Akshay's favorite one....Test rides! We hopped showroom after showroom every weekend. Akshay immersed himself in researching, exploring and knowing more about the new bikes in the market. I, on the other hand, was creating movies in my head about how this next time too is going to be a disaster. I almost talked myself out of ever owning another motorcycle. Felt it was too much. Maybe this wasn't meant for me.
And then one weekend in May we went out to Triumph showroom. I was of the thought that if I owned a motorcycle it could very well be a Speed 400. It was new in the market and looked like it checked all the boxes I had set for my next motorcycle.
Looks...checked
Comfort...checked
Low seat height...Kind of checked
Powerful enough to keep up with Akshay's 500 cc motorcycle...definitely checked
The deal was almost made. We bought the quotation, had a chat with the sales team, tried to sort our financials. It was all done.
Then my chubby hubby made a proposal. Right beside the Triumph showroom lay Benelli-Motovault showroom. He said there were couple of these very new bikes in the market - Benda and SRV, something I could take a look at. I didn't really show a lot of interest in it as I always wanted a Scrambler like bike and Triumph 400 was the one that fell in my budget bracket. But Akshay kept insisting on checking the other bikes out and just to keep him happy, I agreed. We walked over to the showroom and found ourselves in front of these 2 motorcycles - Keeeway V302C and QJ Motor's SRV 300. I wasn't impressed at all - they were cruisers and I disliked them for no reason. I hadn't ever ridden one and the fact that the gear positions were unnatural to a conventional motorcycle, hence I never saw myself riding one. I thought all this shenanigans would end soon but my loving husband insisted that I take a test ride before I fully dismissed the bikes. I couldn't believe what he was saying! I didn't want to. The bikes looked monstrous, heavy, low seated, compact yet menacing. When the ignition turned on, the sound was something I hadn't expected. They were grunty, not the noisy kind but more like an assertive kind - where you tell who's the boss kind! Okay, they sound good and I smiled and that was all my husband needed and he immediately stashed the sales guy's hands with my driving license and ushered me to sit on the motorcycle before I changed my mind. I didn't have enough time to process what was happening with me. Before I knew it I was sitting on a black SRV 300, riding in peak Bangalore traffic. I found it really weird - the stance on a cruiser. Every time i put my foot down I had to remind myself where the legs had to go back. But I have to admit something. That day, on that motorcycle, I felt something stir inside me. First time since I started using a motorcycle, I felt that I was indeed riding one! There was a feel to it. There was a road presence that the motorcycle carried. It was menacing yet very comforting. It was...something. I can't really put it in words.
Back home I couldn't stop thinking about the adrenaline I felt sitting on that motorcycle. I think I can boldly go ahead and say it was a 'love at first sight' kind of feeling! I didn't expect that I could simply dump a Triumph motorcycle which I have been eyeing for months and run after a motorcycle I saw just once! Classic case of cheating! But I knew it in my heart that if I did not go for this bike I would regret later. Prices were slashed to make it competitive in the segment and there couldn't be a better timing for this. The skeptic in me was up all night worrying about the spares, the servicing and all things that could go wrong by buying this motorcycle, given how they are new to the market. That was the work on my mind. But my heart was set on this bike. I didn't want to think otherwise. I didn't feel a connect with any other motorcycle out there and I had to wake up to seeing this one in our parking lot. That was it. SRV 300 was coming home.
We immediately went ahead and booked one at the Whitefield, Bangalore showroom. But due to some differences with the showroom we had to now find a different showroom. Since Whitefield was the only Motovault showroom in Bangalore, we had to look outside the city. We had 2 options - Anantpur showroom or Mysore showroom. We zeroed in on the Mysore Motovault showroom and we couldn't have made a better choice. Staff were very supportive and warm. We did face delays in the delivery of my orange motorcycle. It was a fast moving color and the company was facing challenges pumping out more. But the showroom team always kept us in the loop of the happenings. For that, I thank them heartfully for all that they did to get me my motorcycle.
Finally the D-day came in June, when I rode to Mysore on Phoenix and came back on Ryu! Yes I have named him Ryu - Japanese for Dragon. He is poised at stand still, muscular but when he is on the highway he leaps powerfully with an exhaust note that is nothing but symphony to my ears.
And that's me smiling ear to ear with Ryu :)
It's already September here when I am writing this blog and I have already clocked close to 3K kms on him! That's the highest I have seen in my odometer so far in just 3 months! Now riding doesn't seem like a task. Now I truly know why they "Two wheels moves the soul". I had the chance to travel with my Ryu to so many places on different terrains and in different weathers. Oh I have so much to tell you!! But that's for another day. But until then I hope you enjoy your life and make the most of it...
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